FAYETTEVILLE — David Ruff announced this week he will run for another two-year term as Washington County tax collector.
Ruff, who oversees collecting property and real estate taxes, will be on the ballot for his eighth term in the May Republican primary. If he wins the primary, Ruff will then run in the November general election. He is unopposed.
Profile
Washington County
Tax Collector
David Ruff
(incumbent)
Age: 65
Residency: Springdale
Family: Wife, Carol; three children and three stepchildren
Employment: Tax Collector
Education: Valley Springs High School, 1966
Military Experience: Army Reserve sergeant, 1966-1972
Political Experience: Justice of the peace, Washington County Quorum Court, 1993-2001, tax collector since 2001
Source: Staff Report
Ruff said Thursday he has cracked down on delinquent taxes from businesses and has modernized his department, making payments simpler for taxpayers. For example, he set up online and credit card payments.
“I’ve brought the county into the 21st century,” he said. “We have kept pace with the times as much as possible.”
The tax collector’s office sits between property owners and the county assessor, Ruff said. The assessor sets a value on a house or land, and the tax collector is supposed to keep track of that information and how much is owed in taxes.
Ruff said most of his work is following the letter of the law.
“There’s a lot of book-keeping that goes on in this office,” he said. “What I do is strictly government work within the county. We’re audited every year, and we’re accountable for our money and how we keep track of it.”
About $160 million in taxes goes through Ruff’s office annually, he said, and the data support his claim he has pursued delinquent payments. Delinquent collections jumped almost 900 percent between 2006 and 2011, according to information from the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands Office, from $260,000 to $2.5 million.
The 2012 election was the first time Ruff had an opponent, when Democrat Greg Bradford ran, Ruff said. Ruff suspected he took so long to announce his candidacy in 2012 that people simply thought he wasn’t going to run again. He’s trying to avoid that this year, and at 65 said he has no immediate plans to retire.
“Thank the good Lord,” said Melissa Clark, chief deputy collector, referring to Ruff’s prompt announcement. “He’s very aware of what’s going on. I can’t say enough about him.”
Ruff’s changes, including allowing partial payments throughout the year, have sped up the process for taxpayers, she said.
“He tries to find any way he can to help taxpayers get their payments in on time,” Clark said. “I’m just really happy the way things are going.”